The Battle for Ukraine

Vladimir Putin wants to recreate a Russian sphere of influence.

Updated Nov. 27, 2013 9:54 a.m. ET

After the Soviet Union fell two decades ago, Zbigniew Brzezinskiwrote that "without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be an empire, but with Ukraine suborned and then subordinated, Russia automatically becomes an empire." Those are still the stakes in the current struggle over Ukraine.

Last week the government in Kiev took a step back into Russia's orbit when it abandoned plans to sign an "association" trade treaty this Friday with the European Union and announced its intentions to get closer to a Moscow-led...